Texas Bowl no ordinary game for Texas A&M or Oklahoma State

Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is tackled by Oklahoma State linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (11) during an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Photo: Sue Ogrocki, STF / Associated Press

Growing up in Houston, Amen Ogbongbemiga dreamed of one day playing at NRG Stadium, and he dreamed of playing for Texas A&M.

The junior will fulfill the first big dream Friday night in the Academy Texas Bowl, but the second dream eluded him. That’s why the Oklahoma State linebacker doesn’t buy in when anyone tries selling him on the notion that nonplayoff bowls don’t matter.

“I’m not going to say too much,” Ogbongbemiga said, “but this is a big game.”

Ogbongbemiga, who moved to Canada with his family in 2011, found a home at Oklahoma State after he wasn’t recruited by “dream school” A&M. The Aggies (7-5) and Cowboys (8-4) haven’t played since the Ogbongbemiga clan packed their bags and headed north, one more reason OSU coach Mike Gundy considers the old foes’ first meeting in eight years a big game.

“I’m an old school guy, a Big Eight guy, an old Big 12 guy, and I’m pretty traditional,” Gundy said. “I wanted it to stay the way it was years ago, but TV and money and other people make decisions. We hated to lose the schools that went another direction (from the Big 12), but this is a good matchup.

“It’s good for us, and this is a great location.”

A&M exited the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference in the summer of 2012, becoming the SEC’s westernmost member.

“I know the history,” Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher said of A&M vs. Oklahoma State. “I’m a history buff of college football, and I know all of the intraconference rivalries and what that meant to players, and I respect that. It’s great for college football. That’s one of the unique things about bowl games now is, with all the realignment … people move all the time, but to (meet again) in a bowl game is awesome.”

Gundy has guided the Cowboys since 2005, and he has a four-game win streak against the Aggies thanks to the up-and-down Mike Sherman era at A&M.

Gundy was 4-0 against Sherman, the last win a 30-29 Cowboys comeback victory at Kyle Field in 2011. A&M soon fired Sherman and replaced him with Kevin Sumlin as they entered the SEC.

While the Aggies again have changed coaches in their search for a first conference title since 1998, Gundy has chugged right along in Stillwater, Okla., leading OSU to a Big 12 title in 2011.

“Mike has done a great job, and we’ll have our hands full,” Fisher said. “I’m looking forward to playing because it’s been almost a month, so we’re ready to go.”

The Aggies have been eager to get back on the field after a 50-7 loss at No. 1 LSU on Nov. 30, with junior receiver Jhamon Ausbon calling it a chance to “leave on a good note and wipe that LSU taste out of our mouths.”

A&M especially will have its hands full with OSU sophomore running back Chuba Hubbard, who might turn pro but declined to join the growing trend of players skipping second-tier bowl games.

One who did join the trend was junior tackle Justin Madubuike, the Aggies’ best defender, who announced he was turning pro and skipping the Texas Bowl.

Gundy said the Cowboys were “thrilled” Hubbard is playing in the postseason.

“Personally for me, I think it’s important for players to compete in bowl games,” Gundy said. “That’s just my opinion, and everybody has a right to their opinion. Sometimes they choose not to, and that’s OK. But I’m glad (Hubbard) made the decision he made, and I know our team, fans and the bowl are excited to see him out there running around a little bit.”

The NRG Stadium crowd is expected to be wearing mostly maroon, but Fisher said the Aggies aren’t treating it like their “home” turf.

“A turf is the field you play on,” Fisher said. “And you’ve got to defend that. It’s going to be a 100-yard field that two good teams are going to be on, and you’ve got to go play your tail off. From our perspective, it doesn’t matter if we played in Oklahoma or here (in Houston).”